Views are being sought on a no-fly zone, or ’Danger Area’, during rocket launches from a controversial new spaceport on North Uist.
The Outer Hebrides’ local authority, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, proposed and unanimously approved ’Spaceport 1’ at Scolpaig Farm, Balemartin, near MacLeod’s Folly, an octagonal Georgian tower built on an Iron Age dun in Loch Scolpaig.
The plan drew six supporters and 244 objections, including a petition of 1,300 signatures, arguing "one of the wonders of the Western Isles ... should not be lost to irreversible industrialisation".
In a last ditch bid to block it last July, a campaign group called Friends of Scolpaig urged the Scottish Government to call it in for determination, but ministers chose not to intervene.
A second petition signed by 552 called for an independent review to examine any conflict of interest for Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, as the authority that approved the plans and is taking the project forward.
However, MSPs on the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee closed the petition in December, given it was a live planning application with a public consultation on the airspace change due soon.
Eyeing up a slice of the UK’s £17.5 billion space economy, the comhairle said: "Spaceport 1 will provide an opportunity for the economy of the Outer Hebrides to grow and diversify and will provide much needed local, professional jobs and training opportunities."
The proposal would create 12 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs.
The Spaceport 1 Project aimed to host its first launch in late 2024 or early 2025. It will be able to launch up to 10 sub-orbital sounding or research Launch Vehicles (LV) over the Atlantic each year.
The site includes a 10m x 13m concrete launch pad, a 20m tower, a 63,500l liquid storage tank, a 58,100l water tank, and hardstanding for parking and two shipping containers.
On the day of the launch, exclusion zones would be set in local airspace, in the seas around St Kilda up to 155m (250km) from the site, and on land "to ensure the risk to any person from blast overpressure, fragmentation debris, or thermal radiation is as low as is reasonably practicable".
A formal consultation on the proposed airspace change for Spaceport 1 closes on May 24.
The application is being managed by ‘change sponsor’ QinetiQ on behalf of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar.
The comhairle said: "As rocket launch poses a risk to aviation, it is necessary to separate launch from all other aviation activity, through the establishment of Special Use Airspace in the form of a Danger Area.
"The new Danger Area will be activated around the time of launch with other airspace users notified to ensure that they remain clear of the area for their own safety and the safety of others. The airspace change process is the mechanism through which Danger Areas can be established.
"All documents associated with the airspace change application can be viewed on the Civil Aviation Authority’s airspace portal.
"A drop-in event will be held at Hosta Hall, North Uist on Wednesday April 17, from 1-7.30pm.
"All are welcome to attend and members of the QinetiQ team will be there to answer any queries on the proposal.
"Feedback is welcomed and is an essential part of the airspace change process, as it helps to develop the final airspace design and associated procedures."
The Scolpaig spaceport will be the third of its kind in Scotland, after Space Hub Sutherland and SaxaVord Spaceport in Shetland, granted £10 million in the Chancellor’s spring budget.
The Scottish Government wants Scotland to become "Europe’s leading space nation, capturing a £4 billion share of the global space market and 20,000 jobs in the sector by 2030".
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